Oxnard officer apologizes for Facebook post

An Oxnard police officer publicly apologized Tuesday night for writing on Facebook that his job is to remove the city’s trash.

Officer Kyle Brantner is one of seven named in a federal lawsuit filed against the department this month regarding an overdosing man who died of asphyxia last summer after police restrained him.

Brantner made the statement in the open comment period of the City Council meeting. Dressed in civilian clothes, he said he’d come to speak to the council as a citizen and not at the direction of his department.

“In the posting, I identified myself — as a bad joke — as someone who removes trash for the city of Oxnard,” he said.

In retrospect, he told the council, “I wholly understand how others have interpreted the comment as being disparaging to members of our community, which was never my intent.”

Brantner said he posted the wording three years ago and deleted it as soon as it was brought to his attention.

“I only wish that I could remove the hurt feelings I caused with another push of a computer button,” he said.

A community group that has alleged police harassment in Oxnard, the Todo Poder al Pueblo Collective, posted apparent screenshots from Brantner’s Facebook profile on its website in December. One portion shows the words “trash collector” under the heading “Oxnard Sanitation Department,” along with the phrase: “Cleaning up the city’s garbage.”

Brantner did not refer to the group by name Tuesday, but said a community group had raised concerns about the posting.

“At the time, I meant only that my job was to protect everyone by taking off the streets those who would commit serious offenses and crimes against our community,” he said.

“Again, I offer my sincerest apologies to everyone in our city,” he concluded. “I can assure you that I learned lessons from this incident that I will carry with me for the rest of my career.”

He declined to elaborate after making his statement to the council.

After the meeting, Oxnard Police Chief Jeri Williams said Brantner decided to offer a public apology on his own.

“For what it’s worth, I was pleasantly surprised that he demonstrated accountability” and took responsibility for the post, she said.

When asked whether Brantner was facing discipline, Williams said she could not comment on personnel matters.

The June 23 death of Robert Ramirez, 26, is one of two high-profile fatal incidents Williams has hired an independent agency to review. On Oct. 13, Alfonso Limon Jr., 21, was shot by Oxnard police while walking home with his brother when officers mistook him for a suspect.

Those deaths, along with the August fatal shooting of Michael Mahoney, 36, a man with mental health problems who pointed a gun at police, prompted marches and demonstrations last year.